Reframing “Framing”

This 5-page article (2007) written by Will Friedman for Public Agenda addresses the concept of nonpartisan framing for deliberation, which aims to clarify the range of positions surrounding an issue so that citizens can better decide what they want to do.

While framing has received significant mainstream attention of late, what is not being discussed is the limited context in which framing is conceived. The current infatuation with framing is concerned virtually exclusively with the power politics of parties and interest groups, and the winning or losing of their respective battles. But what if we asked instead about the relationship of framing to fostering citizenship and enabling democratic deliberation and dialogue? What if we were to reframe framing to focus less on how it can help one side or another win the political game and more on what it means, and can mean, for strengthening the democratic process?